Package collector



Dec. 27, 1938 w. D. KIM BALL ET Al- PACKAGE COLLECTOR Filed Feb. 18,1938 4 Sheets-Sheet l Q 961, 6 I Y J 9 2'0 3 Dec. 27, 1938. w. D.KIMBALL 'ET AL PACKAGE COLLECTOR 4 Sheets-Shqet 5 Filed Feb. 18, 1938 ny m NmB Z Maw Z w wn Wm M THE/RATTORNEYJ Dec. 27, 1938. w. D. KIMVBALLET AL I 4 Shee t-s-Sheet 4 Z a Z0 PACKAGE 'COLBECTOR Filed Feb. 18, 1938l l u:

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THE/I? ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 27, 1938 menses councroa Wallace D.Kimball, Jackson Heights, and Cornelius I. Braren, Jamaica, N. Y.,

assignorsto Standard-Knapp Corporation, Long Island City, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application February 18, 1938, Serial No.191,198

17 Claim. This invention relates to package collectors includingautomatic package-feeding and arranging apparatus such as used in.manufacturing establishments for handling manufactured articles such aspackages of cereal, cakes of soap and the like. More particularly theinvention has to dowith apparatus of this sort for receiving such varticles in a plurality of lines in which'the articles are notarrangedin any particular order or spacing, and rearranging the articles in rowsof uniform length and with the articles of each row uniformly spacedapart. Such rearrangement of articles is desirable or necessary infeeding the articles to certain kinds of automatic machinery such, forexample, as automatic case packing machines for packing shipping caseswith the articles. Such a machine is described and claimed in our 7copendlng application Serial No. 710,084, filed February 7, 1934, (nowPatent 2,109,294, dated February 22, 1938) of which the presentapplication is a continuation in part.

Manufactured articles such as packages of cereahcakes of soap and thelike are usually delivered from the wrapping or labelling machines,

26 presses, or whatever machine performs the last operation on thefinished article, by belt conveyors which convey the articles to thedepartment where they are to be packed in shipping containers such ascartons made of corrugated '30 board, fibre board or the like.

Although the articles may be delivered to the conveyor belts in closedranks gaps are often made in the ranks due to the temporary stoppage ofthe wrapping or other machines, the removal of defective arti- 5 cles byinspectors, and various'other causes.

Where the goods are to be packed by hand in the packing cases these gapsin the ranks are of no significance, for in handpacking thearticlesareremoved from the belts by hand. When, how- 40 ever, thearticles are to be packed by automatic machinery it is desirable, if notessential, that the articles be delivered to the case packing machinewith uniformity and regularity and at a speed which is adequate tosupply the demands of the, packing machine.

Accordingly, the invention aims to Provide an automatic package-feedingand arranging mechanism for receiving the articles from a plurality oflines in which the articles are arranged in indeterminate spacing andrearranging the articles in rows of any desired length in which thearticles are uniformly spaced. 7

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and entirelyautomatic package-feeding 66 and arranging mechanism for controlling thefeed of articles to a case-packing machine whereby the packing machineis enabled to receive articles from a number of diiferent chutes,conveyors or other lines leading from the'labelling and wrapping machinewhich periormed'the last opera tion in the actual manufacture of thearticles to Further objects of the invention will appear' 1 from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein we have illustrated a preferred form of our inventionwhich has been found to possess the advantages above enumerated. Inthese drawingsz,

- Fig. 1 is a plan view oi. our machine;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section on plane2-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on line 3- -3 of Fig. 1showing particularly the articlecontrol feed mechanism for insuring afull charge of articles;

Fig. 4 is an end view drawn to the same scale as Fig. 3 and looking fromthe right end of the machine as-viewedin Fig. 1, but with certainportions of the machine broken away or omitted for I the sake ofclearness;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view at right similar to that shownin Fig. 1 but drawn to an enlarged scale and illustrating a modifiedarrangement for separating the articles into rows;

Figs. 9 and 10 are vertical sections taken respectively on planes 9-9and lll l0 of Fig. 8 and drawn to a still further enlarged scale; and r"i Fig. 11 is a vertical section, at right angles to Figs. 9 and 10 on.line ll--ll of Fig. 8.

Before describing our improved machine in detail we will describe withreference to Figs. 1 and 2 the general construction of the machine-andits mode of operation. In the machine selected for illustration, thearticles to be packaged enter in four lines along a feed belt marked Iin Fig. 1.

The feed belt operates continuously but the arti 5o port 2 slightly fromsupport 2 the construction of which is shown in i veyors all articleswhich do not come up to standard. This examination has the eflect ofplacing gaps in the line of articles being fed to the packaging machine,which gaps vary in extent and frequency. Also of course some one orother of the wrapping machines will be temporarily shut down for repairsor other reason, thus producing a long gap or a complete discontinuanceof articles in one row or another of the four rows on the feed belt. I

In advance of the feed belts and in position to receive the articles fedthereby are a series of article-supports, one for each belt, marked 2 inthe drawings. These article supports are in line with the several linesof articles on the feed belt so that the continued movement of the feedbelt- ,will eventually deliver sufiicient articles to each supportto-form' a continuous row of articles in contact with each other. Whensufllcient articles have been accumulated on any one of the severalsupportsfor the row to be filled as indicated, the continued movement ofthe feed belt causes the articles to exert sufficient pressure on thecontrol trip 3, for that particular support, which trip, by mechanism tobe later described causes that particular article support to be shiftedinto position for the articles thereon to be removed. In the machineshown the articlesupports' 2 are raised by the mechanism controlledthrough the trip 3,'into position to be engaged by a pusher mechanism 4which shifts the row of articles transversely of the direction of feedof the belts l onto a feed belt 5 extending in a direction at rightangles to the belt I. By means of the belt 5 the articles are advancedas a complete row, extending transversely of belt 5, to the nextoperation, or to "the casepacking machine 'of our hereinbefore copendingapplication, when the present apparatus is used with such a machine.

Overlying the belt 5 as shown particularly in Fig. l are a series ofseparator guides indicated generally by numeral 6 which separate thearticles of each compact row delivered from the supeach other, so thatthey may be carried by the between guide rods I overlying the belt butstill in a complete transverse row as indicated in Fig. l. The belt 5 isoperated continuously.

The mechanism for carrying out the operation as above described is shownin enlarged detail in Figs. 3, 4,5, 6 and 7, to which reference will nowbe particularly made.

The feed belt I is continuously driven and the articles advanced therebyare maintained in alignment by overlying guides ll providing in thepresent instance four lines of articles moving continuously into themachine, which lines, however, may contain gaps of greater or lessextent? Each article path is defined by the overlying guides H and leadsinto a separate articledetail in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5. Each supportcomprises a platform 12 whose upper surface liesin the same plane as thefeed .belt I. The platform I2 is of a width approximating the spacebetween the guides II and lies in" direct line with the pathway definedby the guides so that the articles advanced by the belt will be feddirectly onto the platform l2 over an intermediate fixed bridge L3.

The platform I2 is mounted on the top of a tubular column H which ismounted for vertical movement on a fixed vertical shaft 15, the colbelt5 in .separate pathways 2,141,212 and labeling machines and remove from'the conumn and shaft constituting the sole support of the platform 12.Overlyingthe platform [2 and spaced therefrom by adistanoe slightlygreater than the thickness of the article to be packed, is a cover platel1. This cover plate is supported at its end away from the belt Ibymeans of a block [8 fixed between the plate. Also fixed to the block18 is a guide roller I9 working in a vertical channel guide 20 fixed tothe machine frame, the roller serving to guide the article support inits up-and-down movement and maintain it in proper position to receivethe articles from the feed belt.

A movable stop member 21 of trip 3 is mounted on the article-supportadjacent the block l3 and in position to be engaged by the articlesadvanced by the belt I when sufficient articles have been deliveredthereto to make a complete row. This stop member 2| is suspended from asuitable pivot 22 supported on the upper face of the cover plate 11. Themember 21 extends through slots in the plate l1 and platform 12 and isspaced sufliciently from the block Hi to permit a slight rockingmovement on its pivot under the pressure of the articles delivered tothe platform by the belt I.

Suspended fromthe under side of the'plat form' 12 adjacent the whichlever is connected to the member 2| by an adjustable link 24. A spring25 is provided for holding the member 2| away from the block l8 to anextent permitted by a stop pin 26 carried by the fixed column 15 andcooperating with a stop projection on the trip arm 23. Cooperating withthe trip arm 23 is an actuating bar 21, which bar extends across themachine underneath the four separate article-supports 2 whereby thesingle operating bar 21 will engage and operate any or all of the triparms 23 projected into its path of movement by the pressure of thearticles against the members 2|. The actu- =ating bar 21 is supportedfor vertical oscillation upon rock arms 28 mounted on fixed pivotscarried by the frame members of themachine and is periodically elevatedby means of a cam 29 continuously rotated from the driving motor 30 ofthe machine, the cam operating through a cam arm 3| and link 32connected to one of the rock arms 28 supporting the actuating bar.

The position of the trip arm 23 is so adjusted by means of the link 24and the adjustable stop carried by the trip arm as to just be clear ofthe operating bar 21 when elevated by the cam when the arm 23 is heldinits position of rest against the stop 16. Until the member 21 isshifted by position to be engaged by the reciprocating arm 33 of pushermechanism I (see Fig. 5) which reciprocates across the fourarticle-supports 2 and thereby serves to deliver the row of articleswhich has been elevated, from its support onto the feed belt 5. It maybe that two or more supports will be elevated at the same movement ofthe actuating bar 21. In such case the reciprocating arm platform andcover 25 bar 21 by means of a crank shaft 33 driven from the shaft,ofthe cam 23 through suitable bevel 33 will shift all therows so elevatedonto the feed belt. 4 g The several article-supports are separated fromeach other by means of fixed guide-bars 34 which constitute in effectextensions of the guides ll. 7

7 These guides 34 are ilxed to the bridge l3 and'extend between theseveral cover plates I! as shown more particularlyin Fig. 5, the topedges of the guide bars being flush with the upper surface of the coverplates to thereby form a continuous surface over which the articles areshifted by the arm 33. When the supports 2 are elevated by the actuatingbar 21 as described, the platforms I2 on which the articles rest arebrought into line with the cover plates I! of the supports which are notelevated, whereby there will always -a position overlying the bridge l3;The-arm 33 is operated intimed sequence with the actuating gears, asshown, whereby the slide 'makes one complete reciprocation for eachrevolution of the cam shaft. The cam 23 is so shaped and so timed withrespect to the crank 31- which operates the arm 33 that the supports2*,will be elevated during the time that the arm 33 is in its positionat the belt 5. The belt 5, whenever it receives articles. I

end of its stroke away-from the delivery belt 5, .and'will be held inelevated position throughout the movement of the arm. across the foursupports and just clear of the cover plate I] nearest the belt 5. Thesupports are then lowered while the arm is completing its movement ofdelivering the articles to the belt 5. In other words the arm 33 has amovement sufllciently in excess of the combined width of the foursupports for the supports tofbe raised and lowered while the arm iscompleting or reversingits movement. The arm will return to its initialposition shown in Fig. 6 while the cam roller is on the low part of theThus the reciprocating arm will deliver to the belt 6 on eachreciprocation whatever rows of articles have been elevated by theactuating bar 21 and in the event none of the bars have been elevated,no articles will be delivered to the at all, thus receives articles inone or more complete rows and these rows are carried forward by the belt5 in substantially transverse alignment but separated from each other bythe overlying guide bars I, as shown more particularly in Fig. 1. j

In order to space the articles from each other as they are advanced ontothe belt 5 sothat the guide bars I may passbetween them, we provide theseparator guides 6 mounted over the pulley 4i which supports the end ofthe belt 5 adjacent the supports 2. These separator guides comprise aseries of guide plates 42 (Figs. 6 and '7) attached to the endsof theguide rods, I (Fig. I) and projecting toward the supports 2 andoverlying the 'stationary bridge 43 lying between the adjacent supportand the belt 5 forming a continuous surface for the articles thereover.The guides 42 are bifurcated at their free ends at a point correspondingwith the thickness of the article and the tongues formed by thisbifurcation are bent in opposite directions.

,The guides are arranged so that between one pair of guide rods the twolower tongues will be flared outwardly (Fig. 1) to guide the articleadvanced-by the reciprocating arm 33 into the space between the guiderods while the next two guide plates 42 will have their upper tonguesbent outwardly to engage and guide the article into the space betweenthe guiderods. As, stated above,

the upper tongues of the guide plates 42 are at an elevation from thebelt greater than the thickness of the article and consequently thearticles to be acted on by the upper tongues must be elevated abovetheplane of the belt as they are advanced by the arm 33. To this endbetween each alternate pair "01 guide rods, namely, those which have theupper tongues of the guide plates 42 flared outwardly, there is placed abridge piece 44. These bridge-pieces extend beyond the ends of the guideplates 42 and the inclination of the bridge is such that every otherarticle in the row advanced by the arm 33 will be elevated sumciently toclear the lower tongues of the guide plates and be engaged by the uppertongues and thus directed into the space between the adjacent guiderods. The intermediate articles, that is, those lying between thearticles which ride up on .the bridge pieces 44, will .move along thesurface of the bridge43 and thus pass under the upper I tongues of theguide plates and be engaged by the outwardly flaring lower tongues andthus guided into the channel between the guide rods.

In order that the articles may be further separated laterally from eachother as they are advanced by belt 5 the guide rods 1 diverge slightlytoward the delivery end of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1.

It is believed the operation of the machine will be sufllcientlyunderstood from the foregoing description. It will be observed that nomatter to what extent there may be gaps in the incoming lines ofarticles, even to the extent of one or more lines being completelystopped, the machine will automatically operate to advance completetransverse rows of articles on the delivery Referring now to Figs. 8 toll'of the accompanying drawings, there is here illustrated a modifiedform of mechanism for eflecting the separation of the articles as theyare swept in complete rows from the article supports 2 onto the belt 5by means of the reciprocating arm 33 01 the pusher mechanism 4. In thismodification the articles of the advancing complete row, or certain ofthese articles, are tilted transversely with respect to the direction oftheir travel in order to expose their side edges to the action of alaterally shifting guide. instead of tilting the articles longitudinallyfor this purpose, as inthe separat ng mechanism previously described andshown particularly in Figs. 6 and 7.

For this purpose the articles, as they leave 'the left-hand support 7.of its cover plate i1, as shown 42 'to enter between the articles and ofwhich they are transferred onto the surface of belt .5 and into therespective lanes 48 between guide rods 1. There is a pair of these railsfor each article in the complete row and hence for each lane or pathway48 except the center lane 49. The center article is carried into lane49by means of a horizontal plate 56. As shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11 theoutside rail 41 of each pairis raised at its central portion, while theinside rail 46 of each pair is depressed.

This causes the articles while supported on the central portions ofthese rails to be tilted with respect to one another as shown in Figs. 9and 10. Thus the two articles adjacent each side of the center articlehave their inside edges dropped below the center article, and the twooutermost articles of each row are similarly tilted with respect totheir neighbors. This exposes the upper'side edges 51 of the centerarticle and the lower side edges 52 of the two articles adjacent thecenter article. It also exposes similar edges 53 of the two outermostarticles.

In order to guide the center article between the rails 1 which form thecenter lane-J49, a pair of guides 54 are arranged in alinement withthese two guide bars 1 at a proper elevation to engage the exposed upperside edges of the center article or package. The right-hand ends ofthese guides 54 are flared outwardly, as shown in Fig. 8. These guides54 are shown as upwardly offset extensions of guide rails 1, all ofthese rails being suspended by vertical rods 55 from a cross member (notshown).

The exposed lower side edges 52 and 53 of the remaining articles orpackages of the row, two of which are on the left of the center packageand two of which are on the right, are engaged by shifting guides 56 and51, respectively. These guides are angular shaped members in crosssection having vertical guide faces and horizontal web portions by meansof which they are mounted upon cross members 56 which also serve tosupport the rails 46 and 41 which are mounted upon brackets. asillustrated in Figs. 9 and 10.

Shifting guides 56 and'51 are arranged with their rear ends in alinementwith. the ends of certain of guide rails 1 while their forward ends arepreferably flared, as shown in Fig. 8, and are placed sufliciently outof alinement with these guide rails to engage the side edges 52 of thearticles or packages when the forward ends of the articles first advanceonto tilting rails 46 and 41 and while the articles are still incontactwith. one another. This angular position of shifting guides 56 and 51causes the two articles on each side of the center article to shiftlaterally and outwardly as they are pushed forward along the slopingrails 46 and 41 toward belt 5 by the reciprocating arm 33. I

In this manner these articles are separated from the center article andfrom one another and directed into the lanes 46 between the respectivepairs of guide rails 1. It will be noted that shifting guides 51 areplaced at a somewhat greater angle than shifting guides 56 for thereason that the articles which are to enter the outermost lanes 48 mustbe shifted a greater distance laterally than the articles which enterthe two lanes 48 which are adjacent center lane 49. In order tofacilitate the proper positioning of these shifting guides they arepreferably adjustably mounted upon the cross members 58, as indicated inFigs. 8 and 10. i

It will be observed that the lateral tilting of the articles by therails 46 and 41 enables the forward end of guides 56 to extend beneaththe opposite sides of the center package, and the forward ends of guides51 to extend beneath the,

outer sides of the packages which are to enter the lanes adjacent theseshifting guides.

In the attached drawings and foregoing description we have disclosedembodiments of our invention which have been found in actual practice tobe satisfactory and emcient. It will be understood, however, that theinvention is not limited to the constructions specifically disclosedexcept insofar as defined in the appended claims.

We claim: v

1. In a machine of the class described, a supply conveyor for carryingarticles in a plurality of lines in indeterminate spacing in each line.a receiving conveyor at right angles thereto and having its receivingend at a higher elevation than the adjacent end of the supply conveyor,a plurality of elevating devices arranged in alinement respectively withthe lines of articles advanced by the supply conveyor, each of saiddevices being adapted to receive a single row of articles, said deviceseach having two superposed platforms, one normally at the level of saidsupply conveyor and the other normally at the level of said receivingconveyor, means under the con trol of the articles advanced onto eachlower platform of said elevating devices for raising said lower platformto the elevation of said receiving conveyor, an arm adapted to movecrosswise of said elevating devices to sweep the articles thereon ontosaid receiving conveyor, and means for actuating said arm in timedrelation to the raisingof said elevating devices.

2. In a machine of the class described, a supply conveyor for carryingarticles in a plurality of lines in indeterminate spacing in each ofsaid lines, a table for receiving the articles from said conveyor andsupporting them in end-to-end contact with one another, a secondconveyor at right angles to said supply conveyor for receiving thearticles from said table, guiding devices arranged over said secondconveyor to guide the articles in a plurality of lines thereon, meansfor sweeping the articles from said table onto said second conveyor, andmeans for separating said closely spaced articles so as to deliver theminto the spaces between said guiding devices comprising guide plates onein alinement with the end of each of said guiding devices, each of saidplates having upper and lower tongues at its front end, the lowertongues of alternate pairsof guide plates being flared outwardly and theupper tongues of the intermediate pairs of guide plates being flaredoutwardly, and means for elevating the articles approaching the linesbetween said intermediate guide plates so as to raise the articlessufliciently to clear the lower tongues of the guide plates and beengaged by the upper tongues thereof and thus directed into the spacesbetween said guide plates.

3. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor for moving articlesina plurality of lines, the articles in each line being in indeterminatespacing, means for receiving the articles therefrom and arranging thearticles in complete rows, comprising a plurality of elevating devicesarranged in alinement respectively with the lines devices each havingtwo superposed platforms,

the lower platforms being normally at the level of said conveyor, andthe upper platforms being normally at a uniform level and providing asmooth table over which the articles will readily slide, means under thecontrol of the articles advanced onto, each of said lower platforms forraising said elevating device to bring the lower ranged in alinementrespectively with the lines of articles advanced by said conveyor andadapted to receive each a single row of articles, said devices havingeach two superposed platforms, the lower platform of each device beingnormally at the level of said conveyor and the upper platforms of saiddevices being at a common level and providing a smooth surface overwhich articles will readily slide-means for receiving the rows ofarticles from said elevating devices, means for sweeping said rows ofarticles from said ele- V vating devices onto said receiving'means,elevating mechanism operated in timed relation to said sweeping means,and means on each of said elevating devices actuated by the articlesthereon for connecting said elevating device with said elevatingmechanism .so as to cause the lower platform thereof to be elevated tothe level of 'the upper platforms'of unraised elevating devices wherebythe row of articles on said elevating device is supported on said upperplatforms while sliding thereover under the action of said sweepingmeans.

5. In an apparatus of the class described having a conveyor forreceiving articles arranged in rows and provided with guiding devicesfor causing said articles to be advanced by said conveyor in parallelpaths, means for delivering suc cessive rows of articles thereto, thearticles in each row being substantially in contact with one another,and means for separating said articles so as to deliver them into thespaces between said guiding devices comprising guide plates, one inalinement with the end of each of i said guiding devices,each of saidplates having upper and lower tongues at its front end, the lowertongues of alternate pairs of guide plates being flared outwardly andthe upper tongues of the intermediate pairs of guide plates being flaredoutwardly, and means for elevating the articles approaching the spacesbetween said intermediate guide plates so as to raise the articlessufliciently to clear the lower tongues of the guide plates and beengaged by the upper tongues thereof and thus directed into the spacesbetween said guide plates.

' 6. In an apparatus of the class described hay-- ing a conveyor forreceiving articles arranged in rows extending transversely of theconveyor and provided with guiding devices for causing the articles tobe advanced by the conveyor in separated lines, means for deliveringsuccessive rows of articles to the conveyor the articles in each rowbeing in contact with one another, and means for separating saidartlclesso as to deliver them into the spaces between the guidingdevices comprising guiding projections in alinement with the ends ofsaid guiding devices, certain of these projections being adapted toengage the articles at one level and others being adapted to engage thearticles at a higher level, and means for elevating the articlesapproaching the latter guiding projections.

7. In an apparatus of the class described having a conveyor forreceiving articles arranged in rows extending transversely of theconveyor and provided with guiding devices for causing the articles tobe advanced by the conveyor in separated lines, means for deliveringsuccessive rows of articles to the conveyor the articles in each rowbeing in contact with one another, and means for separating saidarticles so as to deliver theminto the spaces between the guidingdevices, comprising means for tilting the articles in certain lines withrespect to the articles of other lines as they move toward the guidingdevices so as to expose the forward side edges of the articles, andguiding means for engaging the exposed edges of these articles to causethem to advance into the spaces between the guiding devices.

8. In an apparatusof the class described hay ing a conveyor forreceiving articles arranged in rows extending transversely of theconveyor and provided with'guiding devices for causing the articles tobe advanced by the conveyor in separated lines, means for deliveringsuccessive rows of articles to the conveyor the articles in each rowbeing in contact with one another, and means for separating said a iclesso as to deliver them into the spaces between the guiding devicescomprising means for tilting the articles of alternate'lines withrespect to the articles of the intermediate lines as they move towardthe guiding devices so as to expose the forward side edges of thearticles, and guiding means for engaging the exposed edges to cause thearticles to advance into the spaces between the guiding devices.

9, In an apparatus of theclass described having a conveyor'for receivingarticles arranged in ,rows extending transversely of the conveyor andprovided with guiding devices for causing the articles to be advanced bythe conveyor in separated lines, means for delivering successive rows ofarticles to the conveyor the articles in each row being in contact withone another, and means for separating said articles so as to deliverthem into the spaces between the guiding devices comprising means forselectively tilting the articles of certain lines with respect to theconveyor as the articles move toward the guiding' devices so as toseparate the forward side edges of adjacent articles in a row,and'guidingmeans for engaging the said edges of the articles toiiver'them into the spaces between the guiding devices comprising meansfor tilting the articles of certain lines as they move toward theguiding devices so' as to "raise the forward ends of the articles inthese lines above the articles in other lines, thereby separating theforward side edges of the articles in each transverse row, and guid- 7 5rows extending ing means for engaging the said edges to cause thearticles to advance into the spaces between the guiding devices.

11. In an apparatus of the class described having a conveyor forreceiving articles arranged in rows extending transversely of theconveyor and provided with guiding devices for causing the articles tobe advanced by the conveyor in separated lines, means for deliveringsuccessive rows of articles to 'the conveyor the articles in each rowbeing in contact with one another, and means for separating said articleso as to deliver them into the spaces between the guiding devicescomprising means for tilting the articles of alternate lines as theymove toward the guiding devices so as to raise the forward ends of thearticles in these lines above the articles in the intermediate linesthereby exposing the forward side edges of the articles of a row, andguiding means for engaging the said edges to cause the articles toadvance into the spaces between the guiding devices.

12. In an apparatus of the class described having a conveyor forreceiving articles arranged in rows extending transversely of theconveyor and provided with guiding devices for causing .the

articles to be advanced by the'oonveyor in separated lines, means fordelivering successive rows of articles to the conveyor the articles ineach row being in contact with one another, and

means for separating said articles so as to de-' liver them into thespaces between the guiding devices, comprising means for tiltingadjacent articles of each transverse row transversely with respect toone another as they move towardthe guiding devices thereby exposing theside edges of such articles, and guiding means for engaging the exposedside edges of certain of the articles of each transverse row to shiftthem laterally as they advance into the spaces between the guidingdevices.

13. In an apparatus of the class described having a conveyor forreceiving articles arranged in rows extending transversely of theconveyor and provided with guiding devices for causing the articles tobe advanced by the conveyor in separated lines, means for deliveringsuccessive rows of articles to the conveyor the articles in each rowbeing in contact with one another, and means for separating saidarticles so as to deliver them into the spaces between the guidingdevices, comprising means for tilting adjacent articles of eachtransverse row transversely with respect to one another as they movetoward the guiding devices thereby exposing the lower portion of theside of i said exposed lower portions and shifting such.

articles laterally as they,advance into the spaces between the guidingdevices.

14. In an apparatus of the class described having a conveyor forreceiving articles arranged in transversely of the conveyor and providedwith guiding devices for causing the articles-to be advanced by theconveyorin separated lines, means for delivering successive rows ofarticles to the conveyor the articles in each row being in contact withone another, and means for separating said articles so as to deliverthem into the spaces between the guiding devices, comprising means formaintaining the center article of each row in level position, and meansfor tilting transversely with respect to one another the articles oneach side of said center article thereby exposing the upper side edgesof the center article and the lower side edges of the remaining articlesof each row, means for engaging the exposed upper side edges of thecenter article for guiding the same into the space between the guidingdevices therefor, and means for engaging the exposed lower side edges ofthe remaining articles to shift them laterally as they advance intotheir spaces between the guiding devices.

15. In a machine of the class described, a supply conveyor for carryingarticles in a plurality of lines in indeterminate spacing in each ofsaid lines, a table for receiving the articles from said conveyor andsupporting them in end-to-end con- I tact with one another, a secondconveyor at right angles to said supply conveyor for receiving thearticles from said table, guiding devices arranged over said secondconveyor to guide the articles in a plurality of lines thereon, meansfor sweeping the articles from said table onto said second conveyor, andmeans for separating said closely spaced articles so as to deliver theminto the spaces between said guiding devices comprising means fortilting the articles of certain lines with respect to the articles ofother lines as they move toward the guiding devices so as to expose theforward side edges of the articles, and guiding means for engaging theexposed edges of these articles to shift them laterally as they advanceinto the spaces between the guiding devices.

16. In a machine-of the class described, a conveyor for moving articlesin a plurality of lines, the articles in each line being inindeterminate spacing, means for receiving the articles therefrom andarranging the articles in complete rows, comprising a plurality ofelevating devices arranged in alinement respectively with the lines ofarticles advanced by said conveyor and adapted to receive each a singlerow or articles, said devices each having two superposed platforms, thelower platforms being normally at the level of said conveyor, and theupper platforms being normally at a uniform level and providing a smoothtable over which the articles will readily slide, means under thecontrol of the articles advanced onto each of said lower platforms forraising said elevating device to bring the lower platform thereof to theelevation of the upper platforms of the unraised elevating devices,means operating in timed relation with the raising of said elevatingdevice for sweeping the articles articles to be advanced by the conveyorin separated lines, and means for separating the articles of eachcomplete row as it is swept toward said conveyor by said sweeping meanscomprising means for tilting certain of the articles of each completerow with respect to adjacent articles so as to expose theiforward sideedges of the articles, and guiding means for engaging the exposed edgesof the articles to cause them to advance into the spaces between theguiding devices,

1'7. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor for moving articlesin a plurality of lines, the articles in each line being inindeterminate spacing, means for receiving the articles therefrom andarranging the articles in complete rows, comprising a plurality ofelevating devices arranged in alinement respectively with the lines ofarticles advanced by said conveyor and adapted veyor, and the upperplatforms being normally at a unifierm Revel and previding a smeothtable ever which we ertieies will meewififiy Slime, means under thecentral ef the ereieles advanced ante each at said lewer pietforms fezraising seam elevating device m mm the Kawer plefsform ishereefi fie theelevation m? the name? ame-farms ef the unmised elevating devices, meansoperating; in in med relaibion with we raising of mid elevetmg' devicefor e sweeping the articles thereon. ever the platforms 36 of theeievatzmg devices, a-ecmveyor for mcefiving semi articles and emrevmedwith mem devicesfor causing the emeiee m be edvezmeefi the eenveyer insepmratedi Mines, and means fer separating the articles of each cempietemw as it is swept; inward said comveyer 123) said sweeping meanseemprismg means fer timing edjaeem articles 018 each complete em? withrespect to wine another as they are swept tewem we wmveyer by saidsweeping means thereby ex esfing (the eide edges of the articles, andmeme meme my new gaging the exposededges e1? @emm 0f the erfizieles Qfeach transverse row to shifi them fietemmy as they advance into thespaces between the guiding m WALLAGE Du TE.

devices.

